It has been a long journey for Rutgers Basketball after a regular season that had its shares of ups and downs. However, it now finds itself in the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row with a First Four matchup against fomer Big East rival Notre Dame in Dayton, Ohio.
"It's a different type of mentality, we understand that this could potentially be our last game," Geo Baker said. "Everyone's just locked in and focused and the good part is we've been here before. We all understand what it takes and just kind of stay focused on the task at hand. We don't want to get too ahead of ourselves, right now we just want to stay focused on one game and that's Notre Dame."
Coming into the game shooting 38 percent from three, Rutgers knows the Fighting Irish can score in bunches and is something it will need to defend if it wants to survive and advance to San Diego.
"Just watching film the last two days, they shoot a lot of threes," Clif Omoruyi said. "We've just got to show our length so we can deflect their shot, play good defense, and challenge every shot."
Paul Mulcahy echoed the same sentiments as his teammate.
"They shoot a lot of threes and shoot the ball well," Mulcahy said. "They play in a really good conference so they've been tested and they've got a coach that's been there a long time so they'll be well-coached, but so are we."
Prior to the game, Ron Harper Jr. was named an All-American Honorable Mention, putting him in rarefied air in program history.
"I'm speechless man, I'd like to thank these guys up here with me because without them none of this would be possible," Harper Jr. said. "If you told me when I got here as a freshman I'd be on any honorable mention All-American team I'd tell you to stop lying. It's a great honor that I'm proud of but we've still got so much more work to do. Thanks to my coaches, teammates, fans, and everyone that's supported me."
Coming in at a time when the Scarlet Knights were not viewed as the "go-to" spot for many recruits, Harper Jr. is proud he was able to change Rutgers' culture along with his fellow teammates.
"I wanted to stay home and start a trend of keeping Jersey guys at the state university of New Jersey," Harper Jr. continued. "When Coach [Steve] Pikiell brought me in for my visit and talked about his vision for everything he saw, it was really easy for me to jump on board. I've got two Jersey guys sitting right next to me to help and what do you know? Now we're playing in Dayton in March Madness. It doesn't get any better than this."
This game represents a homecoming for Caleb McConnell and Ron Harper Jr. as the two grew up in the Buckeye State with the former playing high school basketball at SPIRE Academy in Geneva, OH.
"It's definitely emotional just being back in my hometown, this place is very close to my heart," McConnell said. "It's definitely emotional bringing the program up, helping bring it to March Madness, and setting a new goal every year. It wouldn't be possible without these guys, without Coach Pikiell, but to be a kid from New Jersey that came to Rutgers to start something new and to be able to accomplish that is amazing but there's so much more for us to accomplish and I think these guys could agree with that."
Harper Jr. also views this as a full-circle moment.
"Growing up in Dayton, I was here until my grandma died in high school," Harper Jr. said. "I haven't been here since, I think, eighth grade, but Dayton is a place I hold near and dear to my heart. I have a lot of family here so it's great to be back. All roads kind of lead back to home and I consider this place a big part of me."
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